Golf Training Aid

Hi everyone,

This might be a bit out of the ordinary, but I have been intending to wade into this for some time.

What do you think has been the greatest new development for the average golfer in the past couple of years?

● The newest, new driver guaranteed to have you hitting it 20 to 30 yards farther?

● The new putter which is bigger than your 460 cc driver - also warrantied to save you 6 to 7 shots a game? Perhaps ... if you can afford a payment larger than your mortgage.

● Or the tee designed like the head of your toothbrush so you can get some teeth into your drive?

 Before I give you the answer I wanted to tell you about my friend, Larry. If you knew Larry he would be your friend too. Larry lived in a climate where you had to knock off play for about 6 months every year. As a result, Larry was prey for every Golf Channel ad or infomercial or any exaggerated claim in Golf Digest. None of us ever tried to set Larry straight because he genuinely loved those hyped up claims. It helped him to while away the long winter months. He’d grin foolishly thinking of the time zones he'd be ahead of us next spring when his new driver launched that sucker out of sight.

We used to kid Larry that with the 30 extra yards from his new driver, the 20 from the new shaft and the 25 from the new ball, he would have to chip backwards to the first green on the opening par 4. Larry would just smile serenely.

Now you know why we miss Larry so much now that he is gone. He truly loved the game and always cherished its potential.

 Let’s return to what is the best new development? Here is the Larry -approved answer. It is the golf rangefinder. Whether it is a laser or a GPS, this little piece of technology puts you on a par with a PGA touring pro.

I am more familiar with the laser because at one time I leased them to top end golf courses. The ones we handled had a reflector built into the flag stick. They were dead on accurate ... and fast. You had your measurement in under three or four seconds. I think we were a bit ahead of the curve. We knew they were the ticket because when we gave them to pros for their tournaments, they raved at how neat the technology was and how it sped everything up.

Although the GPS cannot give you a yardage to the flag, I like the fact that they show options in the landing areas and give you front-middle-back yardages to the green. They are getting easier to use as the manufacturers try to get an innovation edge on their competitors. No more scrolling around to find out where you are on the course. They are more durable and quite frankly a lot of fun to use. They really have the potential to speed up play. Wouldn’t that be a breakthrough. No more “Death March to Bataan” masquerading as a round of golf. Ah, but that is grist for another piece!

These little gizmos have now been approved for tournament play by the USGA and the R&A. (Whoa, boys, before you are flung headlong into the 21st Century!). Perhaps now they can turn their attention to revisiting the rationale for the rule that requires golfers to have to hit out of a divot hole left in the middle of the fairway by some cretin playing 5 holes ahead.

I think the price point has made these a bit of a Father’s Day/your birthday kind of gift. But honestly, having the right information is just about the most important thing the average golfer can have other than a real swing. It really helps you to plot your way around the course and encourages you to be a whole lot more strategic in how you play a hole.

Anyway, if you have a special day coming up, start hinting. It might help if you sent this article on to your loved ones! Oh, by the way, cherish those times with your loved ones as we cherished our time with Larry.

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Swing hard and swing often.